Technical Research

Log 7

Following from my completion of the theoretical research section I thought of an idea that I could use within my products to best target a mass audience within the region (local community). This includes displaying a female footballer along with the other male players I will include in my products. This female model will be presented in the same way as the men with the same connotations, for the purpose of strengthening my brand's support for gender equality. As I will subvert typical stereotypes of how women are portrayed in the media and go against/avoid the male gaze theory, I will therefore be opening my brand up to male and female audiences within the local community, where my products become appealing to whoever enjoys the sport and wants to participate in local events. From a larger audience being attracted by the gender neutral aspects I include, my products will gain more publicity and will therefore generate more revenue.

Typical representation of women in media products.



My representation I want to include in my products.

Genre and Narrative Theories

 

Genre Theory

Genre means the categories associated with a certain topic, such as active/sport, fashion and film are examples of genres of magazines. The categories/genres that products associate themselves with involve specific conventions that make them unique and more obvious to relate to a certain genre. Examples of this include typography, colours and images which would be specifically used to target the right audience. This is important, to make sure products are marketed right, so audiences know from certain aspects what it is about and who it is targeting.

In my production, I am going to make sure I follow most of the conventions that are expected from a sports/football magazine, such as strong/powerful fonts and colours, as well as images that connote an inspiring role model. The reason I want to stick to typical conventions is so that the audience can best recognise my products to be from a football/sport genre, or else it won’t be appealing to them as well, therefore losing potential customers. Even though I will include many of the expected conventions of my chosen theme/genre of magazine, I will still want to make a few aspects subvert typical conventions, for the purpose of appearing unique and different compared to similar brands (competitors), to appeal better to audiences.

Narrative Theories

A narrative is the way in which a story is told and the construction of how it is written. This doesn’t really play a big part in my production because my main content will involve facts, offers, advertisements, etc, and an interview about my model/rising star involving his story. It is for this reason that I do not need to include narrative theories from someone such as Todorov or Barthes to aid me in the content I will write/include in my products.

Representation Theories

Audience Theories

Audience theories from Alex Bowles

Auteur Theory

http://edu.glogster.com/glog/auteur-theory/2nowsd9cvj5/

Topic Research

Football magazines mainly contain interviews with well-recognised players, to give the readers a better knowledge of their favourite players and local stars. Fans of the game always find it interesting to read about exclusive stories/interviews about players most people recognise, therefore, having an ‘exclusive’ interview displays how this magazine is offering something unique.

Including a local rising star that is from the area encourages the regional magazine’s audience to want to read about him and support him. This would mean that promoting his story and potential future success through an interview would encourage the audience to read on, and also take part in local events/fundraisers if he is promoting them. Advertising local events is a typical convention of a regional magazine, where the local star promotes this to best attract the community and inform them of the importance of gathering together as a community, where this social solidarity connotes how the brand cares about bringing people together for a positive impact. Best advertising/promoting these events increases word of mouth around the local area/region and therefore boosts the community in terms of global recognition and participation in charity events.

Fitness help, training routines, skills and nutrition are other subject areas that I would like to focus on in my magazine to target all aspects to consider when being a professional. These aspects are also here to give ideas to aspiring footballers at a lower level who want to boost their game.

Due to a niche audience of a regional magazine, advertising is an important aspect for the purpose of attracting readers to additional offers/products/brands and gain more revenue from sales and ad charges. Promoting local businesses which may include football clubs also helps boost the local community and the business’ sales.

Firstly, I researched Kylian Mbappe’s story as a young prodigy to gain ideas for what to write about in my own magazine. I used an article produced by the BBC and included some key facts they used below. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40904612

 “Mbappe, who was born on the outskirts of Paris and started out at his local team AS Bondy, made his first-team debut for Monaco in December 2015. Aged 16 years and 347 days, he became the youngest player in the club's history - beating the record set by Henry in 1994 - when he appeared as an 88th-minute substitute against Caen. Three months later, he became the club's youngest scorer with his first senior goal against Troyes.”

"Since he was very young, he was known everywhere in Europe as the prodigy," said French football writer Julien Laurens.

"At 11, Real Madrid invited him for the first time to train with their under-12s and visit the club's facilities. At 14, it was Chelsea's turn. And then PSG. He eventually chose Monaco."

Next, I researched an article on football drills and skills to aid me in what I wanted to include in my magazine, in terms of what looks the best to perform and what would be most recognisable to the readers, as well as training drills that are the most beneficial. I could also include images of where these moves were used in a pro game and who invented them. https://www.soccercoachweekly.net/soccer-drills-and-skills-best/

I also researched improvement/performance tips for all positions in order to know what best advice/tips to give in my own magazine, that would be most beneficial for readers to use in their own games. https://www.fourfourtwo.com/performance

Additionally, I researched footballers nutrition (what they eat and drink) to give me ideas as to what meals are most appropriate for aiding their development so I can give my own advice and options once I know some background behind what foods and drinks are considered good and bad. https://www.fourfourtwo.com/performance/nutrition/what-do-footballers-eat-and-drink

Lastly, I watched a video of the 'F2' doing warm-ups and crazy skills, to give me ideas as to what I could use in my production to catch the eye of the target audience and make them want to learn themselves.

Email to Professionals

In this task, I emailed the football magazines 'FourFourTwo', 'World Soccer' and 'Shoot' to ask for advice relating to the theme and conventions typically used to best attract the target audience.

I also emailed larger companies including 'VOGUE' and 'Billboard' to ask for their advice on the best methods/techniques to use when marketing my product across different platforms, for example, linking my magazine to a website and billboard. The emails used below for Billboard include the editorial director and research manager, as well as the online advertising queries email of VOGUE, as this was the most relevant to what I was sending.

Unfortunately, I did not receive any response from those I sent an email to, however, from looking at products they have already created I was able to interpret their designs in my own way to target my audience.

Conventions

Summarising conventions I discovered from my form and genre research, I decided to follow the key aspects that make a magazine, website and billboard appear unique compared to other brands and display their content in a persuasive, eye-catching way. These include a strong colour palette used throughout the products to create a strong brand identity as well as giving off the correct connotations from the colours used. I will also make sure my fonts fit conventions of a football/male orientated magazine, by being in san-serif, to appear clear and understandable to the target audience, with headings and the masthead being bigger and bolder to indicate their importance. The images that I will take myself will fit typical conventions, with the players being focussed and more determined with their expressions, as well as displaying strength, power and maybe even anger, to relate to male stereotypes. This has the purpose of being displayed more as role models and strong figures to the audience, which therefore makes them want to read about them.

From my genre and form research, I ended up not subverting any conventions, as this magazine is only regional (local), therefore it would need to stick with conventions if it is to target as many of its target audience as possible. I will make sure the products I produce aren't solely male orientated, for the purpose of maximising the audience, and making it appeal to females in some respect, as well as males.

Check List:

• Strong complimentary colour palette that strengthens my brand identity
• Clear, bold fonts (san-serif)
• Closed communication where the language/ terminology is specific to the target audience
• Images containing strong player(s) that give off a serious and determined look for the game
• Players seen as role models - best of the best
• Involve the audience - 'you', 'us', 'we'
• Make audience more than just male - involve whole community (region)
• Attractive content that football fans would love to read
• Be more unique and stand out - e.g. colour, message, interaction with customers, layout, etc
• Offer discounts and promotions
• Promote events in the community
• Get across message that the brand supports the local community by using the money made from sales to fund sports/activity programmes.

Form Research

Genre Research